For the last 101 days, pro-democracy demonstrators have been staging marches and protests countrywide

World Bulletin/News Desk

Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi staged fresh rallies on Friday to demand an end to what they call the July 3 "military coup" against Egypt's first freely elected leader by Egypt's military establishment.

For the last 101 days, pro-democracy demonstrators have been staging marches and protests countrywide to demand the ousted president's reinstatement.

Friday's rallies come shortly after the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a coalition of pro-Morsi groups, dropped calls to demonstrate in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The coalition said the move was in response to calls by intellectuals and political figures to avoid demonstrations in main public squares in hopes of avoiding bloodshed.

The u-turn came after at least 57 demonstrators were killed by security forces on Sunday while attempting to march on the flashpoint square.

Tahrir was the epicenter of this summer's demonstrations against Morsi, who had served only one year in office when the army unseated him.

Pro-democracy marches on Friday were reported in the provinces of Cairo, Alexandria, Sharqiya, Minya, Ismailia and Suez.

Protesters flashed the 'Rabaa Sign,' the four-finger salute that has come to symbolize the six-week pro-democracy sit-in in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square which was violently dispersed by security forces on August 14.

Demonstrators also chanted slogans against the military and the "coup leaders."

Clashes erupted between protesters and anti-Morsi elements in at least three provinces.

In Sharqiya, a pro-democracy march was attacked by unidentified individuals in provincial capital Zagazig, leading to violent confrontations.

Similar clashes were reported in the Nile Delta city of Shebin al-Koum in the Menoufiya province, although no injuries were reported.

In the coastal city of Alexandria, meanwhile, security forces used teargas to disperse a pro-democracy demonstration while several protesters were reportedly arrested.